The Working Tools
Documentation
Menu

Documentation: Events

Events

The Events section is split into three areas;

  • Events - the main Events page. This opens showing events from 7 days ago up to 90 days ahead. Use Showing Events Between and Update Date Range to look further back or further ahead. That range is remembered for you on this lodge, so it is still in place when you come back to this page.
    You're also able to search and filter events on this page. Please note when searching, you'll only get results from within the date range.
  • Upcoming Events - all future events, in chronological order, soonest first.
  • Past Events - all past events, in chronological order, most recent first.
Events plus Upcoming and Past events tabs.

Overview of Events

Take a look at this YouTube tutorial to give you an overview of the Events section.

Creating Events

To create an event, select New Event from the top bar navigation.
This will open a pop-up menu where you can create your Event.
Here you can select the type of event, then give it a title and a date.

Event Types:
Lodge Meetings - Our regular, staged Lodge meetings
Scheduled Meetings - The same as Lodge Meetings, except created from your Lodge Schedule. Scheduled meetings have the added bonus of pulling in Notes and the next occuring date (if they're set), so for example, remembering to present Lodge Accounts in the September meeting becomes simple. See Schedule.
Other - Any other meeting you'd like to record; Candidate Interviews, Officers Meetings etc.
Rehearsal - Organising the catch up to perfect your Ceremonies
Social - Getting the Bretheren together for a BBQ, or Beers!
Online - Coordinate your Lodge's online meetings (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype etc.)

The Planner

The Planner is where you build the meeting itself. Everything is composed from re-orderable Items, and each Item simultaneously feeds your Summons, your draft Minutes, and your Running Order — plan once, produce three documents.

Templates and Template Groups let you re-use wording and add whole ceremonies in a single click.

Read the full Event Planner guide

Performances

Open a Lodge meeting and choose Performances. Each lodge role, and each ritual piece on a linked ceremony, can be given a performer for that night.

The list is searchable. It offers the usual members, every contact on the lodge, and any one-off guest added on that event. Type a name, or a contact's email, to narrow it.

A performance starts as Planned. After the meeting, mark it Confirmed if that person did the work. Confirming a member adds the night to that member's Reports tab, which is the list used for promotions. A contact or guest stays on the event and on the ceremony's history. It is not added to a member's record, to ritual competence, or to the list of current officers.

Set Performances to Active Role Holders fills the roles from the members who hold those offices now. It replaces anyone already chosen for that role, including a contact or guest.

Inviting Members (Attendance Invites)

Use Attendance Invites to email members about an event and track their responses. Go to an event, open the Attendance page, and use the tools described below.

Selecting who to invite
  • Select individually: Tick the checkbox next to each member you want to invite.
  • Select all: Use the top checkbox to toggle all member checkboxes at once.
  • Select by Tags: Use the Select by Tags panel above the table:
    • Pick one or more tags from the list.
    • Click Select matching (any) to select members who have any of the chosen tags.
    • Click Select matching (all) to select only members who have all of the chosen tags.
    • Use Clear selection to uncheck all.
Composing and sending the invite email
  1. Click Invite to open the email composer. The same placeholders work for member invites, contact invites, multi-invite, and the single-member invite modal.
  2. Custom HTML email: Use the editor to write your message. You can format text and insert horizontal rules and lists. The default template already greets with [[ first_name ]] and includes the invite button placeholder.
    • Placeholders: Use the placeholder chips (or type tokens such as [[ first_name ]] and [[ event_date ]]) to personalise each invite. Chip inserts appear as highlighted pills in the editor so they are easy to spot; recipients only see the resolved text. Tokens are replaced per recipient when the email is sent. Names are flexible ([[ First Name ]] works the same as [[ first_name ]]), and [[ first_name ]] prefers a member’s Known As name when set. Available placeholders:
      • First name: [[ first_name ]]
      • Full name: [[ full_name ]]
      • Surname: [[ surname ]]
      • Masonic name: [[ masonic_name ]]
      • Rank: [[ rank ]]
      • Lodge name: [[ lodge_name ]]
      • Sender name: [[ sender_name ]]
      • Event title: [[ event_title ]]
      • Event date: [[ event_date ]]
      • Event time: [[ event_time ]]
      • Event date & time: [[ event_date_time ]]
      • Event type: [[ event_type ]]
      • Location: [[ event_location ]]
      • Response cutoff: [[ response_cutoff ]]
      [[ event_location ]] prints the event’s Location when one is set, and the Meeting Address from lodge settings when it is not. If neither is set, that placeholder is left out of the email. Contacts do not have a first name, so [[ first_name ]] is dropped for them (for example Hi [[ first_name ]], becomes Hi,). Unknown tokens are left as typed — these are different from Event Planner minutes blanks, which are fill-in markers rather than mail-merge fields.
    • Check before sending: When you send invites, The Working Tools warns you about placeholders that will not be replaced (for example a typo). Choose Go back and edit, or Send anyway if you meant to leave the text as typed. This check does not run when you only mark people as invited without emailing.
    • Invite button: Include the button placeholder [[ INVITE_BUTTON ]] where you want the RSVP button to appear, or click the Invite button chip above the editor (inserted as a pill). If omitted, the system will append the button automatically. This token is handled separately from the personalisation tokens so the RSVP button still works.
  3. Attachments (optional): Click Attach files to choose one or more documents from your archive to send with the invite.
  4. Click Preview to see the email for the first selected recipient with placeholders filled in (including the RSVP button), shown in the same layout as the real email — lodge logo, styling, and your signature. Nothing is sent when you preview.
  5. Click Send Invites via Email to email all selected members (or contacts, from the contact invite panel).
Mark as invited without sending an email

If you prefer not to send an email (e.g., you invited by phone or WhatsApp), select the relevant members, open the invite panel, and click Only mark as Invited. This records the invite status without sending any messages.

Inviting contacts

Contacts, including regular visitors, use the same invite and reply flow as members. Tag them (for example Regular Visitors) and, on the Attendance page, use Invite by Tag on the Invite Contacts card to invite them all at once.

When members respond

When a member or contact clicks the invite link, they are asked whether they can attend (Attending or Not Attending). If Offer dining at this event is switched on (on the event Home tab, under Event Information), and they choose Attending, they are also asked whether they will be dining. They then receive a confirmation email. This email confirms their response has been recorded and includes:

  • The event name and date
  • Their recorded response
  • Whether they will be dining, when dining is offered at the event
  • Any notes they included
  • A link to update their response if their plans change

After sending invites, use the Outstanding Member Invites and Responded Members tables on the same page to monitor responses and send reminders as needed.

Sending reminders

If someone has been invited and has not replied, they stay under Outstanding Member Invites or Outstanding Contact Invites. Tick the people you want to chase and click Send Reminders.

The reminder is a fixed email. It says they have been invited to the event but have not updated their attendance, and it includes the same Update Attendance button and calendar file as the invitation. The wording cannot be changed. A green bar at the top of the page tells you how many were reminded. Anyone with no email address, or an address that fails, is named on a red bar and is not counted as sent.

Each reminder run is kept under Tools → Emailer → Sent, filtered to Event Reminders. The entry shows the subject, the message, and a delivery status for each person, and it stays there even if nobody replies.

Retracting an invite

If you invited the wrong person, use Retract on their row in Outstanding or Responded, or from their attendance popup. You'll be asked for a short explanation (for example, that the invitation was sent in error). They are emailed that message, the RSVP link no longer accepts a response (it shows your explanation instead), and they reappear as Not Invited so you can invite them again later if you need to.

Retracting also removes them from dining lists and the Table Planner for that event. The original invite email cannot be unsent from their inbox — the withdrawal email and disabled link are how the mistake is corrected.

Adding events to calendars (iCal)

Members can add events straight to their own calendars — no typing required. A calendar file and links are included automatically wherever an invite reaches them:

  • Invite & reminder emails: Every invite and reminder email includes an event.ics calendar file attachment. Most email apps (Apple Mail, Outlook, Gmail) show an "add to calendar" option for it. The email also contains Google Calendar and iCal & Outlook links.
  • The RSVP page: The page members use to respond to an invite includes Add to your calendar links, shown both before and after they submit their response.
  • The event page: As an organiser, you can download the iCal file yourself using the Download iCal (.ics) link at the top of any event page.

The calendar entry uses the event title and date, along with a link back to the RSVP page so members can update their response later. You can tailor what goes into it from the event page:

  • End date: By default a 2 hour duration is assumed. Click + Add end date under the event date to set the real end — ideal for multi-day events such as trips and rideouts.
  • Location: The event's Location field is used when set (eg. a meeting point or venue for a social); otherwise your Lodge's address (from your Lodge settings) is used. The same text is available in invite emails as [[ event_location ]]. Great for lodges without a static meeting place.
  • Notes: Tick Include these notes on calendar invites under the event's Notes to have them appear in the calendar entry and on the RSVP page — perfect for details like meeting point and time, timings, ride leader, dress code or cost. Leave it unticked (the default) to keep notes private to organisers.
A note on timezones

Event times in The Working Tools are treated as local times — the time you enter is the time everyone sees. The downloaded/attached iCal file works the same way: it will appear in each member's calendar at exactly the time you entered, in their own local timezone. For lodges where all members are local, this is exactly what you want.

The Google Calendar link works slightly differently: Google requires a specific timezone, so we use the timezone from your account settings (or the lodge owner's timezone on the public RSVP page). Please make sure your timezone is set correctly in your settings — if it's wrong, the Google Calendar link may show the event at the wrong time. Members joining from a different timezone to the lodge should double-check the event time, as the iCal file intentionally does not convert times between timezones.

Quick Attendance

Quick Attendance is the fast way to record who attended after a meeting, without opening each member's attendance popup. From the event's Attendance page, choose Quick Edit Attendance.

Each member of the Lodge is listed in a table. Use the radios to mark them as attended, not attended, or invited/unknown. Tick Confirmed once you have verified their attendance in the minutes, and tick Dining for anyone staying for the festive board. Dining ticks here are the same field as the popup on each member, so they flow through to the dining lists and the Table Planner.

Gold rows
Rows highlighted in gold do not yet have an attendance record for this event. Saving a status or a Dining tick on a gold row creates that record. If you leave the radios untouched and tick Dining, they are saved as Invited and Dining.

Filter and tick all dining
The name filter at the top hides rows as you type. Tick all and Untick all in the Dining column header only affect the rows currently visible, so you can filter to a group and mark them dining in one go.

Saving with no changes leaves every existing dining choice as it was, including responses that came in from invite replies.

Dining lists

Anyone marked as Dining for an event appears on the printable dining lists and the CSV export, from the Resources card on the Attendance page:

  • Print Dining List — everyday names
  • Print Dining List (Masonic Names) — contacts use their Formal Name when it is set
  • Export Dining List — CSV or Excel, for the caterer, including dietary notes and menu choices when a menu is set up

Dining can be set when someone replies to an invite, from their individual attendance popup, or in bulk from Quick Attendance. The same dining flag is what the Table Planner uses: only dining members, contacts and guests appear in Unallocated Attendees.

Turning dining off for an event
The Offer dining at this event switch is on the event's Home tab, under Event Information, and is saved with Update Event. Turn it off for rehearsals, committee meetings, or anything without a festive board. The invite reply then asks only whether they can attend. People already marked as dining keep that flag and still appear on the dining lists until you untick them in Quick Attendance. The Home tab shows how many are still marked.

Menus and dining choices

When dining is offered, Set up menu sits under the switch on the event Home tab. Add courses such as Starter, Main, Dessert and Wine. A course with two or more choices is what guests pick from. A course with a description and no choices, or only one, is shown as menu text and is not asked as a question. Wine is just another course, for example With wine and Without wine.

Copy from another event
The menu page can copy the courses and choices from another event in the last 18 months. Copying replaces the menu on this event. If guests have already chosen, you are asked to confirm first, because those choices are removed.

What guests see
On the invite reply, the menu appears after they choose Attending and Yes to dining. Required courses are marked. The preview on the menu page uses the same layout.

Editing someone's choices
Open their attendance popup (member, contact or other guest) and set each course. Secretaries can leave a course as Not chosen. The same selects are on Add an Attendee. Quick Attendance stays a dining tick only.

Kitchen totals
The Dining card on the Attendance page lists how many diners chose each option, and how many have not chosen yet. The same totals appear at the end of the printed dining lists. When diners are still missing a required choice, Ask diners to choose their menu emails them a link. It lists who will be emailed, skips anyone whose address has bounced, and is hidden once the response cutoff has passed. Guests added by hand have no email, so set their choices from the popup.

Exports
Export Dining List can include one column per choice course. CSV is the usual file. Excel adds a second sheet, Menu Totals. A link that opens the export without the form still downloads the original CSV, without menu columns.

Changing the menu after replies
You can rename a course or a choice, and change its colour, at any time. Removing a choice that guests already picked asks you to confirm. Their selection is deleted and they show as Not chosen. Adding a new course with choices does not email anyone by itself. Existing diners show as Not chosen until they reply again, until you set it from their popup, or until you use Ask diners to choose their menu.

Printed dining lists show a column for each choice course. With more than three choice courses they use a single Menu column instead, so the page still fits. The Table Planner can colour seats by a course.

Confirming attendance (post‑meeting)

The Confirm attendances feature is used after the meeting to record what actually happened. It does not change a member’s planned status. Before a meeting, members may be set as planning to attend or not attend. After the meeting, you confirm whether those planned attendances actually took place for accurate reporting.

Planned vs confirmed
  • Planned attendance: Set ahead of the meeting to show intention (e.g., Attending / Not attending).
  • Confirmed attendance: Recorded after the meeting to reflect reality (e.g., Confirmed attended / Confirmed did not attend). Reports use confirmed values.
How to confirm attendances
  1. Open the event and go to the Attendance page.
  2. Under the Post meeting section, use Confirm attendances to review everyone who planned to attend — or use Quick Attendance if you also want to mark dining in the same sweep.
  3. For each member, mark whether they actually attended or did not attend.
  4. If plans changed on the day, update their planned status if needed, then confirm what actually happened.
Why this matters

Knowing who planned to attend is useful for preparation, but reporting should reflect who actually attended. Confirmed attendance powers your attendance statistics and post‑meeting reports.

FAQs
  • Does confirming change the planned status? No. Planned shows intention; confirmed records the outcome.
  • When should I confirm? After the meeting, once you know who actually attended.
  • What if someone changed their mind before the meeting? Update their planned status to reflect the latest intention, then confirm attendance after the meeting.